With the start of Yom Kippur we take a look at the best Jewish basketball players of all-time.
HoopsVibe's Very Quick Call: From Schayes to Stoudemire, Jewish ballers have always been an important part of the game.Read More

“These things” include critics ranging from NBA television commentator and Jordan friend Charles Barkley, to a columnist in the Chicago Sun-Times who asked why Jordan was at hockey playoff games instead of home tending to his Bobcats, to frustrated fans. The harshest comments to date came Wednesday morning from ex-Bobcats coach (and Hall of Famer) Larry Brown. Brown said on Dan Patrick’s nationally syndicated radio show that Jordan’s top advisers didn’t challenge his opinions and “don’t have a clue.” Brown even suggested Jordan placed “spies” in the basketball operation to check up on him and his assistants.

HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: Playing the game was easy. Managing and owning a team has been difficult.

Larry Brown, the nomad coach, thinks Michael Jordan’s lack of success as manager/owner of the Charlotte Bobcats is because he surrounds himself with yes-men.

Brown, of course, would know. He was the former coach of the Bobcats before quitting mid-season a couple of years ago. Like Jordan, he’s part of the North Carolina mafia, so these two go way back.

Brown believes Jordan’s enablers won’t challenge him or his philosophies, allowing him to, say, party during Super Bowl Week instead of punching the clock and putting in work on turning around the lowly Bobcats.

Jordan’s lack of success is hardly a surprise. But not because he has the middle-aged equivalent of Turtle, Drama, and ‘E’ in the Bobcats’ front office. Star players usually struggle as coaches, executives, or owners because they don’t understand the commitment necessary to have success in an off-court position.

For instance, players practice and/or play for at most four-to-five hours per day. Then they go home. While coaches, executives, and owners practically live, sleep, eat, and breath their team. 24 hours a day. 7 days a week.

A former star, like Jordan, doesn’t get what he must put-in as manager/owner. After all, playing the game came naturally to him, but the personnel and business side of things is different.

HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: It makes some sense -more than hiring Don Nelson, at least.

Larry Brown is best when spreading his ‘Play The Right Way’ mantra amongst a young, impressionable group. After all, Brown considers himself a teacher of the game, and clearly he suffers for his students.

Well, the Minnesota Timberwolves are young and impressionable. They've won just 32 games since 2009, so Brown’s message would, at least initially, hold weight.

The on-court dynamic would be fine -for a while. The off-court end of things sounds dicey.

Yes, Wolves GM David Kahn has known Brown since their days at UCLA. In fact, Kahn considers Brown a mentor, who guided him as a young, impressionable reporter on the west coast.

This is a problem. Brown, to be effective on the sideline, needs a strong counterweight in the front office, who can laugh off his idiosyncrasies, worrying, and perfectionist nature.

There was the legendary Donnie Walsh in Indiana. There was the enthusiastic Pat Croce in Philadelphia. And there was Joe Dumars, who at the time still possessed his magical touch in Detroit.

This trio knew when to listen and when to ignore Brown. Not surprisingly, this formula worked in Indiana, Philadelphia, and Detroit.

Kahn is already a disaster. He would misread, misquote, and mishandle Brown, which, in turn, would have a negative impact on those young, impressionable, and talented players.

The nomad sideline boss isn’t right for the Wolves. But this is about Kahn's inadequacies, not Brown's.--Oly Sandor.

HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: Larry Brown has burned more bridges than a pyromaniac serving a five year bid at Sing, Sing prison in upstate New York.

Brown is the nomad coach. When the going gets tough, he gets going. Or when he thinks the grass is greener on the other side, he goes to the other side.

Just ask the Charlotte Bobcats and Los Angeles Clippers or the Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks or the Philadelphia 76ers and those same Pistons.

Of course, this doesn't stop Brown from demanding his players 'Play The Right Way'. It doesn't matter that he's doing the opposite in front of them.

Despite the hypocrisy, Brown can teach youngsters. Unfortunately, the Boston Celtics are a veteran crew. Old heads like Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce won’t want to deal with the overbearing, impatient, and frustrating Brown.

Celtics head coach ‘Doc’ Rivers won’t be particularly enthused with Brown’s idiosyncrasies either -especially if he’s only using the defensive coordinator gig to showcase himself for a head coaching job.

Rivers and the Celtics should avoid Brown. He’ll burn them like he has so many other teams.

"It's kind of like losing a team. Nobody wanted to play no more," Jackson said. "Everybody wanted to play a different style than we were playing. We didn't agree with what was going on. Obviously, it wasn't working, so we needed a change. We had to figure something out."

Instead of letting the past go and focusing on the present, the Charlotte Bobcats swing had to throw a dart at recently overthrown coach Larry Brown.

Sure, Brown, the nomad coach, is a pain; his message of Play The Right Way wears thin like his grinding personality; and the Bobcats were struggling with a deplorable 9-19 record.

But Jackson shouldn’t have slammed his coach. He should have answered the reporter’s question differently. After all, the proof is in the pudding. And the Bobcats are 4-2 since Paul Silas took over on the sideline.

So he could’ve kept quiet. No need to utter a word, especially since he reportedly wants out of Charlotte. Brown, for all his warts, has friends around the league. They’ll shy away from the outspoken Jackson.

Charlotte Bobcats Chairman and CEO Michael Jordan announced today that, effective immediately, Larry Brown is stepping down as head coach of the team.

"I met with Coach Brown two weeks ago about the team’s performance and what we could do to improve it,” said Jordan. “We met again this morning after practice. The team has clearly not lived up to either of our expectations and we both agreed that a change was necessary.

“This was a difficult decision for both of us, but one that needed to be made. I want to thank Larry for everything he has done for our team. He has played a key role in this organization’s development, including coaching us to our first playoff appearance last season. Larry will continue to be a valuable advisor to me regarding the team. The search for a successor will begin immediately.”

Larry Brown is out as coach of the lowly Charlotte Bobcats, who have failed to meet expectations after a fine 2010 season.

Brown's departure hardly comes as a surprise. He has never stayed with an organization for long and, despite being under contract with the Bobcats, had interest in openings with the L.A. Clippers and Philadelphia 76ers last summer.

Team Jordan is also terrible, losing by 30 points last night to the John Wall-less Washington Wizards.

Brown had seen enough. On to the next coaching gig for Mr. 'Play The Right Way' –wherever that may be.
--Oly Sandor.
Got thoughts? Well, get at HoopsVibe News in the comment box below.

A simple reward system has contributed to Miami's current eight-game winning streak. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra set parameters that reward his superstars with offensive freedom when they excel on the defensive end.

If Dwyane Wade grabs a defensive rebound, he has the green light to do whatever he wants offensively. If LeBron James makes a defensive stop, he controls his own game on the other end of the court. "Our job is to defend and then we get rewarded with what we want to do on offense," James said.

HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: Not long ago, Erik Spoelstra was persona non grata with the Miami Heat. Today, he’s the toast of South Beach.

Spoelstra’s turnaround is because of one thing: The Deal. He has given Chris Bosh, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade complete freedom on offence provided they follow his game plan on defense.

Such an arrangement isn’t new. Years ago, Coach Larry Brown compromised his ‘Play The Right Way’ mantra by allowing Allen Iverson to shoot until his heart was content if he gave his all on defence with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Not surprisingly, Brown got more out of his superstar than any coach. Together, they advanced to the NBA Finals.

Last night Spoelstra’s Heat won their ninth straight game. After a slow start, the star studded club is fulfilling expectations.

Like Brown, Spoelstra is also looking to use ‘The Deal’ to make noise in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
--Oly Sandor.
Got thoughts? Well, get at HoopsVibe News in the comment box below.

The Bobcats have agreed to terms on a contract with Kwame Brown. Brown will earn the league-minimum under a one-year deal that will reunite him with Michael Jordan, who drafted him first overall in Washington.

Years ago, Michael Jordan selected Brown first overall for the Washington Wizards, and then traumatized the teenager from the executive suite and on-court.

Things should be somewhat different. Expectations are realistic. Brown and Jordan are both older.

However, you can't completely change your stripes. Brown remains an underachieving post. And Larry Brown, the coach, and Jordan, now Charlotte's majority owner, are both competitive and perfectionists.

Not automatically. Sure, coach Larry Brown holds great sway in sculpting the Charlotte Bobcats’ roster. But he’s not the only voice or the most powerful one.

And he’s been told no. Case in point: Allen Iverson.

“We had a short conversation about him,’’ recalled Bobcats owner Michael Jordan of the high-talent/high-maintenance shooting guard.

Jordan said that for all of Iverson’s ability, he wasn’t the right fit on a young team still establishing an identity. Jordan expressed that to Brown, who accepted Jordan’s judgment. And they all moved on.